He weighed more than 22st and was registered by his doctors as 'severely obese' before his life was turned upside down.

Now, Daniel Wheeler has shot to fitness fame after dropping to 14st and featuring on the front of Men's Health magazine.

But the diet the 32-year-old embarked on wasn't the 5:2 - the fasting diet widely acclaimed to help people beat their bulging waistlines.

Instead, his transformation was down to the 80/20 diet, based on counting calories the majority of the time and eating 'whatever you like' the rest of it.

The star of Channel 4's documentary Super Slimmers claims the same principles helped him lose the majority of his weight.

And now, Mr Wheeler, from Surrey, promises the same remarkable results for anyone willing to sign up to the 'lifestyle plan' online.

Here, MailOnline documents four incredible weight loss stories by people following the diet, including the woman who lost 10st in 18 months.

Danny Wheeler dropped to 14st in 2012, when he was featured on the front of Men's Health magazine (pictured now, after launching the 80/20 diet)

'It was a complete case of fat to fit,' he says. 'Before I lost weight I binge-ate carrier bags of sweets, I got takeaway kebabs and burgers every night'

He quit his job in marketing to become a personal trainer and started to train as a nutritionist so he could learn how to get fit. He launched the 80/20 lifestyle plan earlier this month

The creator of the diet, who lost 8st following it

Mr Wheeler, from Surrey, weighed more than 22 st and was registered by his doctors as 'severely obese' until he lost almost a third of his body weight.

He dropped to 14st in 2012, when he was featured on the front of Men's Health magazine.

'It was a complete case of fat to fit,' he says.

'Before I lost weight I binge-ate carrier bags of sweets, I got takeaway kebabs and burgers every night because there were a dozen fast-food shops on my street and I didn't like cooking for myself at home.

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'I didn't know what healthy food was. I went on every diet you can think of and collapsed in supermarkets because I wasn't eating enough.

'I lost weight, but all the diets were unsustainable long-term because they were too restrictive and boring.

'When it came to exercise I didn't know what I was doing and I couldn't motivate myself.'

Standing in his shower in April 2010, Mr Wheeler realised he'd become so big he couldn't see his feet anymore, and realised how unhappy he was.

He quit his job in marketing to become a personal trainer and started to train as a nutritionist so he could learn how to get fit and stay slim.

He launched the 80/20 lifestyle plan earlier this month.

Standing in his shower in April 2010, Mr Wheeler realised he'd become so big he couldn't see his feet anymore, and realised how unhappy he was

Mr Wheeler, from Surrey, weighed more than 22 st and was registered by his doctors as 'severely obese' until he lost almost a third of his body weight

WHAT IS THE 80/20 DIET AND WHAT CAN YOU EAT IF YOU FOLLOW IT?

Simply put, the 80/20 diet, created by Daniel Wheeler, involves eating healthy, calorie-tracked meals 80 per cent of the time, and eating whatever you like 20 per cent of the time.

'No food is banned,' he says, 'and that's because having a little bit of your favourite food is more likely to keep you on the diet, meaning you can drop a lot of weight in 16 weeks because you've stuck to it.

'I think this could be the new 5:2.' You can drink alcohol for the same reason, too.'

After signing up to the plan online at www.the8020lifestyleplan.com, clients pay £25 a month for four months (plus a £25 sign-up fee) to access the programme.

After an initial consultation with Mr Wheeler about how much weight they want to lose and what else they want to get out of it, he helps clients work out a plan based on a set number of calories which they follow in the 80:20 pattern daily.

Those who need extra help learning how to cook healthily - like he did - can buy Macro Recipe Ebooks from the website (£9.99 each) which include 110 recipes for meals like guacamole chicken, sweet potato fish cakes and berry protein pancakes.

This might be the only weight loss programme in the world that says 'exercise isn't mandatory' - but a plan involving 80 per cent weight training and 20 per cent cardio 'is advised'.

On top of that, those who sign up get lessons in positive psychology and are shown how to use cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques to change the way they think about food.

That's vital when it comes to stopping one of the most common problems of being overweight - binge-eating, Mr Wheeler says.

The 46-year-old who lose 10st in 18 months

Nicky Chapman, 46, from Bracknell, lost ten stone in 18 months on the 80/20 plan after changing her mindset about binge-eating.

'I was a size 32 and didn't like the way I looked so I was always trying different diets and then blaming myself when I couldn't stick to them,' she says.

'I dieted for 30 years! But 80/20 is not really a diet, it's more of a mindset.

'Often diets focus purely on food and not the behaviour that's driving the eating but this one does.

'When it worked and I dropped to a size 18, the feeling of relief, the feeling of freedom and the feeling of just feeling good about myself was not something I've ever come across in fat loss before.

'But now I don't step on the scales every day. This is sustainable for the rest of my life.'

Ms Chapman, an NHS psychotherapist, now works for the company, helping with the psychological element of binge-eating.

Nicky Chapman, 46, from Bracknell, lost ten stone in 18 months on the 80/20 plan after changing her mindset about binge-eating (pictured before, left, and after, right)

Ms Chapman, an NHS psychotherapist, now works for the company, helping with the psychological element of binge-eating

The 38-year-old 'morbidly obese' man who lost 10st

Dan Cody, 38, from Loughborough, was 'morbidly obese' and incredibly unhappy until he read Mr Wheeler's story in Men's Fitness.

He decided to do something about his own weight. He has since lost 10 stone and is training how to do Olympic-level weight-lifting.

'Seeing Dan (Wheeler's) story gave me hope because he'd been as heavy as me and now has an amazing body,' he says.

'I didn't sign up to 80/20 immediately and started to lose weight on my own but after I lost six stone my weight-loss plateaued because I didn't really know what I was doing.

'This helped me identify my unhealthy relationship with food and work on the psychological aspects of losing weight.

'That helped me lose another four stone in a year.'

Dan Cody, 38, from Loughborough, was 'morbidly obese' (left) and incredibly unhappy until he read Mr Wheeler's story in Men's Fitness. He decided to do something about his own weight. He has since lost 10 stone (right) and is training how to do Olympic-level weight-lifting

'Seeing Dan (Wheeler's) story gave me hope because he'd been as heavy as me and now has an amazing body,' he says (pictured before he lost 10st)

The 36-year-old who became pregnant after losing 4st

Others have found weight loss has helped them get pregnant after unsuccessfully trying for up to three years.

Louisa Wilkinson, 36, had been trying and failing to have a baby with her partner Steve for around two years when they gave up on the idea it would happen naturally and started to look into IVF through the NHS in Swindon, where she lives.

Because she was overweight, she needed to lose around a dress size in order to lower her BMI enough to have treatment on the NHS (and increase the chances of it working) so she signed up for the 80/20 diet for help.

It worked so well that she lost almost four stone between February and May last year, dropping four dress sizes. And 12 weeks in, she got pregnant.

'Unlike a lot of people on the 80/20 diet I had never been a fad dieter, and had always been pretty comfortable in my body, or at least thought I was,' she says.

'But the fact that we weren't getting pregnant made me realise my diet was probably a major factor as there were no medical reasons for infertility, so I knew had to change something.

'When I got pregnant I put on a little weight, which at first freaked me out, until I realised that 80/20 had given me the tools to get rid of that after the baby is born.

'That's what's great about it, it helps you hell yourself so you don't need your hand holding like in other diets. And the baby is due any day now.'

Others, such as Louisa Wilkinson, have found weight loss has helped them get pregnant after unsuccessfully trying for three years (pictured left, now after losing 4st, and right, before)

The 29-year-old who put ON 3lb of muscle

Diane Wheeler, 29, from Shepperton, also got pregnant by losing two dress sizes on the diet but actually put on 3lb.

Diane, of no relation to the creator of the diet, is a classic example of why we shouldn't focus on weight in diets, says Mr Wheeler.

'She gained weight on the 80:20 but dropped from a size 22 to a size 18,' he says. 'I see this a lot with clients.

'Some women lose a huge amount of weight but their appearance hardly changes, others drop dress sizes while losing no weight at all, or even putting it on.

'We need to pay more attention to our bodies than the scales. If you want to lose a dress size you can, even if your efforts don't appear to be working in terms of weight loss.

'Remember that muscle weighs more than fat anyway so you might get heavier if you're doing more exercise. Don't let it dishearten you.'

The fact that Diane got pregnant after naturally trying and failing for months was a good indication that she was healthier.

Diane Wheeler, 29, from Shepperton, also got pregnant by dropping from a size 22 to a size 18 on the diet - but actually put on 3lb (pictured before, left, and after, right)